Spindle supporting apparatus



Nov. 21, 1944.A R. w. YouNG SPINDLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS Filed oc't. 5o,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l @wcm/bo@ MI. YOUNG Rzc'HA/m Nov. 21, 1944 R. W`YOUNG SPINDLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 50, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2yRICHARD 'WI )nwvc Patented Nov. 21, 1944 SPINDLE SUPPORTING APPARATUSRichard W. Young, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Morgan ConstructionCompany,

Worcester,

Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts- Application October 30,1942Serial No. 463,985

s Claims. l(c1. :so-31.1)

This invention relates toy spindle supportingv apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for supporting the universal coupling spindlesof `a rolling mill in order to facilitate the changing of the rolls. p

The ordinary'rolling mill used in the production 'of metal bars, rodsand the like comprises a pair of horizontal rolls which are connected topinion shafts by means of universal coupling spindles. These spindlesserve to drive the rolls without interfering with vertical adjustmentsvof lthe ,rolls to control Ythe size of the ',product. When aroll ischanged it is necessary to support the Axt 'eight of the correspondingspindle. The use r of anv overhead crane for this purpose is common butundesirable, since suchuse ties up some very expensive equipment whichis usually needed for jother purposes. .While various forms of ljacksand the like have'beenl proposed, they' have been for the most` partexpensive, complicated, and

comparatively inconvenient lto operate. Itis accordingly onel objectofthe invention to providrea comparatively simple and inexpensive'spindle supporting apparatus which can be controlled in a, veryconvenient manner. l It 'isa further object of the invention to providea rugged and dependable apparatus which will, support either or both ofthe twok coupling n spindles of a rolling mill.

With these and other-.objects in View, as will vbeapparent to thoseskilled in theart, the invention-resides in the combination of partssetforth in the specification and coveredfby the claims appended hereto. YReferring to 'the drawings illustrating r'one kembodiment of thevinvention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

taken on the line -3---3ro`f I parts in a different position ofadjustment; and

Fig. Bis a side elevation of the apparatus inj port for4 a' pair ofhorizontal rolls II having roll '.necks I 2. A pairof pinion fshaftslI4, are ar ranged in approximate alignment with the rolls,

,lel upright side walls 2I.

these shafts extending from a pinion housing I5 ,to provide a drivingmeans for the rolls. The

`pinion shaftsare connected to the roll necks by necks I2 and the pinionshafts I4, but when the rolls are removed for replacement it becomesnecessary to lsupport the adjacent ends of the spindles by other means.The present invention lis concerned with the 'construction of apparatusfor this purpose.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated comprises a frame I9 in theform of an upwardly open box having a bottomwall and two paral- Asshownin Fig. 2, the side walls are connected by vtwo upright plates 23'whichextend part way downrfrom the tops of the side walls and by two uprightplates 24 which extend part way up from thebottom wall 20 near the` endsthereof. The plates 23 are located somewhat closer together than theplates 24.v The side walls 2I are provided A with U- shaped notches 25(Fig. 1) yof sufiicientfsize to avoid interference with the-sleeve lI'Iof the lower tically slidable carriage 2B in the form of an upwardlyopen box having a bottom wall 21, two parallelupright sidewalls 28, andtwo parallel. upright end walls A29. The side walls 28 are `providedwith U-shaped notches 30 of'sufiicient size to avoid interference withthe sleeve' I1 of the lower coupling spindle.A l The end walls 29 areprovided withv bossesl 3I `having convex outer faces vfor engagementrwith the inner surfaces ofthe adjacent plates-23. Lugs 32 project fromAthe upper portions of the end walls 29 over the tops of theplates 23 tolimit the downward travel ofthe carriage.- Bosses 33-extend yinwardlyfrom the inner surfaces-ofthe side walls 2|y ofthe frame for engagementwith the outer surfaces of the sidewalls 28. These side walls`28 extenddownwardly below the bottom wall 21,v and between these downwardlyextending portions there is provided a horizontal lever 35 which isfulcrumed vat the end on a pin 36supported by the side walls 2I of. thevframe. The other end of the lever is connected to the piston rod 38 of`,a uid motor comprising a vertical cylinder 39 having a slidable piston40 therein. The cylinder is pivotally supported between the side walls2| by means of trunnions 42. The movements of the piston are controlledby a four-way Valve 43 mounted on a shelf 44 projecting from one of theside walls 2|. This valve is supplied with pressure fluid from anysuitable source, and it is connected to the'opposite ends of thecylinder 39 by means of tubes 45 which are sufficiently flexible topermit a slight oscillation of the cylinder in its trunnion bearings asthe piston moves. The valve 43 can be actuated manually by means of anoperating handle 46. On the center of the bottom Wall 21 there isprovided a lug 48 which projects downwardly into a socket 49 in theupper surface of the lever 35. It will `be clear that with thisconstruction the lever 35 and the carriage 26 may be raised and loweredas desired merely by manipulating the handle 46. e

The carriage is provided with means adapted to engage either or both ofthe adjacent coupling sleeves to support the same during roll changes.For this purpose an upper pair and a lower pair of dogs or armsare'pivotally supported between the side walls 28 of the carriage bymeans of vpins 52 each of which is provided at one end with a handle 53.As shown in Fig. 1, one of the .side walls 2| of the frame I9 is formedwith two openings 54. through which the two lower pins 52 extend. On theupper end of each arm 5| there lare Amounted two vidler rollers 56 forcontact with l,the .adj ac ent coupling sleeves I1. The lower end ofeach arm A5 I is shaped as a lug 51 which `engages anabutment 58 on thecarriage to limit the downward movement of the arm and hold it in litsoperative position. Additional abutments 59 are provided on the carriageto Support the arms when they'are raised to inoperative positions, asindicated in Fig. 5, the center of gravity of each `arm being thenlocated outwardly of its pivotal axis so that the arm will remain in thedesired ing handle.

The operation of the invention will now be apparent from the abovedisclosure. Norm-ally the lugs 32 will rest upon the upper edges of theplates 23, thereby supporting the carriage 26 in its lowermost position,with the rollers 56 out of contact with the coupling sleeves l1. 'Whenone ofY the mill rolls needs changing, the corre.-

sponding pair of arms 5| will be swung inwardly` r vthen return thepilot Valve to neutral position and stop the movement of the carriage,whereupon the roll can be changed and the carriage 'thereafter loweredto its original position. Ob-

viously if only one of the rolls is to bechanged, it is necessary tolift only 'the corresponding coupling spindle, and this can readily bedone with the apparatus disclosed. If by chance a careless operator'should start rotation of the spindles while one'of them is'supported bythe corresponding arms'5|, the rollers 56 will turn and the spindle willremain supported in the proper position. The apparatus is comparativelysimple and inexpensive to manufacture', and convenient to operate.

Having thus described my invention, what I .10 Aposition until moved bymeans of the correspondclaim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. In combination with a rolling mill having an upper roll, a lowerroll, and a pair of substantially horizontal coupling spindles to drivethe rolls, a frame located beneath the spindles, a carriage movablevertically in the frame, means to raise and lower the carriage, separatedevices on the carriage to engage the respective spindles and supportthe same while -the rolls are being changed, and means to retract thesaid devices independently to inoperative positions.

2. In combination with a rolling mill having a roll and a substantiallyhorizontal coupling spindle' to drive the same, a frame located beneaththe spindle, a carriage movable vertically in the frame, means to raiseand lower the carriage, a

.pair of dogs pivotally mounted on the-carriage and arranged to supportthe spindle when the carriage is raised, and means to swing the dogsabout their pivots to inoperative positions.

3. In combination with a rolling mill having an upper roll, a lowerroll, and a pair of substantially horizontal coupling spindles to drivethe rolls, a frame located beneath the spindles, acarriage movablevertically in' the frame, means to raise and lower the carriage, anupper pair of dogs and a lower pair of dogs pivotally'mounted on thecarriage adjacent the respective spindles and arranged to support thesame when the carriage is raised, andmeans to swing the dogs about theirpivots to inoperative positions.

4. In combination with a rolling mill having a roll and a substantiallyhorizontal coupling spindle to drive the same, a frame located beneaththe spindle," a carriage movable vertically in the frame, means to raiseand lower thecarrage, a pairof arms pivotally mounted on the carriage,idler rollers mounted on the ends of the arms and arranged to engage thespindle and to support the same when the carriage lis raised, and meansto swing the arms about their pivots to inoperative positions.

5. In combination with a rolling mill having an upper roll, a lowerroll, and a pair of substantially horizontal coupling spindles to drivethe rolls, a frame located bene-ath the spindles, a carriage movablevertically in the frame, means to raise and lower the carriage, an upperpair of arms and a lower pair of arms pivotally mounted on the carriageadjacent the respective spindles, idler rollers mounted on the ends ofthe arms and arranged to engage the spindles and to support the samewhen the carriage is raised, and means to swing the arms about theirpivots in inoperative positions.

6. In combination with a rolling mill having a roll and a substantiallyhorizontal coupling spindle to drive the same, a frame located beneaththe spindle, a carriage movable vertically in the frame, means on thecarriage to engage the spindle and support the same when the carriage israised, a substantially horizontalv lever beneath the carriage insupporting rel-ation thereto, and

.means to actuate the lever to raise and lowerthe carriage.

'7. In combination with a rolling mill having a roll and a substantiallyhorizontal coupling spindle to drive the same, a frame located beneaththe spindle, a `carriage movable vertically in the frame, means on thecarriage to engage the spin- 'dle and'support the same when the carriageis raised, a substantially horizontal lever beneath the carriage insupporting relation thereto, means on the frame providing a fulcrum forthe lever at one end thereof, and a fluid motor mounted on the frameabove the other end of thelever and y dle, a carriage movable verticallywithin the box and likewiseshaped as an upwardly open box having twoupright side walls which are notched to avoid interference with thespindle, a pair of dogs pivotally mounted on the carriage and arrangedto support the spindle-when the carriage is raised, and means to swingthe dogs about their pivots to inoperative positions.

RICHARD W. YOUNG;

lCERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,565,578. November 2l, 19h14..

RICHARD W .YOUNG It is hereby certified that error appears in theprinted specification of the above numbered patent requiring correctionas follows: Page l, second column, line 5l, for the end" read --one end;page 2,seoond column*9 'line 55, Claim 5, OI "in" read .to; and that thesaid Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat thesame may conform to the ree/ord of the oase 1n the Patent Giuria@asigned and sealed this 15th day of February, A. D, 19115.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents,

